Envelope opener



1H2; 1953 s. E- CALHIOUN ETAL 2,635,694

ENVELOPE OPENER Filed Feb. 8, 1951 I VENTO 5 .C 92%? 5 Az/ r ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 21, 1953 ENVELOPE oPENER Samuel E. Calhoun and Harry Miller, Springdale, Conn., assignors to Pitney-Bowes, Inc.,

Stamford, Conn., a corporation of Delaware Application February 8, 1951, Serial-No. 210,014

'.This inventionrelates to a device for opening sealed. envelopes by the shearing of one edge thereof, and more particularly to a retractable presser bar therefor.

The shearing device includes the known elementsof a rotary cutter with spiral cutting edge and'an associated shear plate having a ground straight edge bearing against the peripheral surface of the rotary cutter. Associated with said rotary cutter and shear plate is a presser bar whichnormally lies in the path of the edge of an envelope when the envelope is advanced to a shearing position,the presser bar being adapted to apply pressure to the forward portion of the envelope to maintain the edge thereof in a proper cutting relation'with the rotary cutter. An oiler element is also normally employed which'comprises a rod having cylindrical fibrous means mounted thereon, the rod being conveniently mounted so as to permit the oiledsurface of the fibrous means to rest on the surface of the rotary cutter.- r r In the present invention-it is the principal object, to provide means whereby the presser bar maygbe quicklyflipped to a retracted position away from the path of the envelope, to permit frail air mail envelopes or envelopes having bulky contents to be more easily manipulated in placing the edge of either in the best cutting position. r

It is also an object of the invention to mount the. presser bar on manipulative members in-a manner which will permit the presser bar to moveaboutthe surface of the cutter and to eventually become lockedina retracted position.

It is another object to mount a cutter oiler element on the manipulative members with the presser bar and arrangesame so that the surface of theoil'er element will remain in contact with the rotary cutter when the presser bar is in a retracted position. I

A preferred form of the invention is disclosed in the following drawings, wherein:

i. Fig.1 is a perspective view of. theenvelope edge shearing device 'on a reduced scale;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view looking toward the upper left and front end of the shearing device as seen in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 with the presser bar in its forward or work engaging position;

Fig. 4 is a sectional View showing the same parts as in Fig. 3 but with the presser bar in a retracted position; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the end 5 Claims. (01. 1644a supportemembers for the presser bar and oiler element, looking toward the right end of the device as seen from Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a casing 10 has a forwardly positioned platform l2 with a shear plate l4 secured thereto, also an upwardly disposed hood'portion It with an opening 18 therein. ..A rearward extension 20 of said casingis adapted to house suitable power driven mechanism (not shown). End wall-s 22-23 provide the end boundaries of the opening l8.

A rotary cutter 24 is rotatively supported Within the endwalls 22-23 of the casing and has a plurality. of spiral cutting edges 26, which, when the. cutter is rotated, will cooperate with the shear-plate M in effecting the shearing of an extremely narrow strip from the edge of a sealed envelope when the envelope is moved into en. gagement with the cutter. The shearv plate 14 has a. hardened and ground straight edge 28 which bears against-the peripheral surface of the cutter.. i It is desirable to maintain a slight film of oil on the surface of the cutter to lubricate same. For this purpose an oiler element is provided which preferably comprises a number of 'cylindrical ,fibrous members 30 carried on a rod 32, which rod has protruding ends or pintles 32a,

l When the device is used to shear the edge of envelopes of normal weight, within say three ounces, av presser bar3'4 is provided in the path of the envelope and directly in front of the cutter souas topause thev leading edge of the envelope to be flattened or ironed outat the point of contact'with therotary cutter. The presser bar, as shown, is tubular, with theends thereof closed and includes pintles, 34a, 34b. f The j pintle portions 32a, 32b of the oiler elementrod j32and the pintle portions 34a and 34b of the presser. bar .34 are. carried by manipulative spacerlm'embers. 35. and 3! respectively. Also, the oiler. element and presser bar norm-ally rest against therotary cutter 24 and. shear plate M respectively as in Fig. 3, the Weight of the oiler element and supporting members 36, 31 providing additional weight for the presser bar when in its normal position. Arms 3'8, 39 project outwardly from the spacer members 36, 3'! respectively and have finger grip knobs 40, 4| respectively thereon.

Each end wall 22, 23 has a guideway provided therein, one of which is shown at 22a, which guid-eways are preferably curved concentric with the surface of the rotary cutter 24 and are posi- 3 tioned so as to be engaged by the peripheries of the pintles 32a, 32b and 34a, 341) when the oiler element and presser bar are in the position of Fig. 3.

Said guideways continue from their curved direction to 2. preferably horizontal direction to guide the pintles 32a, 32b to a latching position relative to detent portions 42, 43 of detent springs 44, 45 respectively. Said detent springs are secured to lugs 48 forming an integral part of the inner portion of the hood I6.

When an envelope is overweight or has contents therein which causes the leading edge to bulge to the extent that the presser bar would not be effective in flattening the envelope sufficiently to cause the leading edge to rest flat against the shear plate at the position of the surface of the rotary cutter, it is desirable to manipulate the envelope in such manner as to work the edge thereof into a suitable cutting relation with the cutter. This is best accomplished when the presser bar 34 is removed from the path of the envelope. Rocking of the members 36, 3! from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig. 4 will effect removal of the presser bar 34 from the path of the envelope. When the latter is effected the presser bar 34 is latched in its retracted position by the spring detents 42 and 43.

It is also desirable to retract the presser bar 34 when frail air mail envelopes are to be opened. Here the weight of the presser bar interferes with the entry of the envelope edge.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that by a quick flip of the knobs 40, 4| rearward, the presser bar 34 will be removed from the path of the envelope, as in Fig. 2, and a downward or forward flip of the knobs 40, 4| will cause the presser bar to return to the normal operating position of Fig. 3.

Having described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In an envelope opening device, the combination with a rotary cutter, shear plate and a supporting frame; of a presser bar including a pintle at each end thereof and normally resting on the shear plate in the path of an envelope, guideways associated with the frame and overlying said pintles, means for moving the presser bar rearward'ly through a path determined by the guideways and the surface of the rotary cutter, and means for retaining the presser bar in a predetermined rearward position.

2. In an envelope opening device, the combination with a rotary'cu'tter, shear plate and a supporting frame; of a presser bar including a pintle at each end thereof and normally resting on the shear plate in the path of an envelope, an oiler element engaging the surface of the rotary cutter and having a pintle at each end thereof, manipulative means engaged by the pintles of both the presser bar and oiler element, said manipulative means being movable to effect retraction of the presser bar and oiler element over the surface of the rotary cutter, and latch means positioned in the path of and engageable by the pintles of the oiler element when the presser bar is in a retracted position.

3. In an envelope opening device, the combination with a rotary cutter, shear plate and a supporting frame; of a presser bar includin a pintle at each end thereof and normally resting on the shear plate in the path of an envelope, an oiler element engaging the surface of the rotary cutter and having a pintle at each end thereof, manipulative means engaged by the pintles of both the presser bar and oiler element, guideways associated with the frame and overlying said pintles, said manipulative mea s being movable to effect retraction of the presser bar and oiler element through a path determined by the guideways and the surface of the rotary cutter, and means engaged by the pintles of the oiler element when the presser bar is in a retracted position.

4. In an envelope opening device, the combination with a rotary cutter, shear plate and a supporting frame; of a presser bar including a pintle at each end thereof and normally resting on the shear plate in the path of an envelope, an oiler element engaging the surface of the rotary cutter and having a pintle at each end thereof, spacer members engaged by the pintles of both thepresser bar and oiler element to maintain same in a predetermined spaced relation, guideways associated with the frame and overlying said pintles, manipulative grip means on said spacer members operable to effect retraction of the presser bar and oiler element through a path determined by the guideways and the surface of the rotary cutter, and latch means engageable by the pintles of the oiler element for retaining the presser bar in a retracted position.

5. In an envelope opening device, the combination with a rotary cutter, shear plate and a supporting frame; of a presser bar including a pintle at each end thereof and normally resting on the shear plate in the path of an envelope, an oiler element engaging the surface of the rotary cutter and having a pintle at each end thereof, spacer members engaged by the pintles of both the presser bar and oiler element to maintain same in a predetermined spaced relation, guideways associated with the frame and overlying said pintles, manipulative grip means on said spacer members operable to effect retraction of the presser bar and oiler element through a path determined by the guideways and the surface of the rotary cutter, spring detent members supported in the path of the pintles extending from the oiler element, said detent members being adapted for locking engagement by the pintles of the oiler element.

SAMUEL E. CALHOUN. HARRY F. MILLER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,265,844 Washburne May 14, 1918 1,559,020 Washburne Oct. 27, 1925 

